{"id":7185,"date":"2015-01-07T17:25:06","date_gmt":"2015-01-07T22:25:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.myparkingsignblog.com\/blog\/?p=7185"},"modified":"2026-02-11T01:05:47","modified_gmt":"2026-02-11T06:05:47","slug":"legal-pot-leads-drugged-driving-concerns-says-aaa-study","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.myparkingsign.com/blog\/legal-pot-leads-drugged-driving-concerns-says-aaa-study\/","title":{"rendered":"Legal pot leads to drugged driving concerns, says AAA study"},"content":{"rendered":"

As recreational marijuana use is legalized in Oregon, Washington, the District of Columbia, Alaska and Colorado, safety advocates and ordinary Americans alike are concerned over the impact of driving while impaired, according to a new study from the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety. The analysis<\/a> found that over 50% of those surveyed reported feeling that “drug-impaired drivers are a bigger problem today compared to three years ago,” and a majority support marijuana-impairment laws to improve traffic safety.<\/p>\n

\"cops

Driving under the influence of marijuana is predictably rising in states where it’s legal, but OTC medications can pose even greater risks. Image from goatmanbaldy<\/a>.<\/p><\/div>\n

Driving while impaired by marijuana is notoriously more difficult to spot than drunk driving. States\u2019 varying laws don\u2019t necessarily make enforcement simple, either. \u201cWhile all states prohibit driving under the influence of drugs, there\u2019s significant variation in the minimum acceptable levels of marijuana or its traces in a driver\u2019s system,\u201d Peter Kissinger, president and CEO of the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety, said in a statement. \u201cSixteen states forbid any presence of prohibited drugs, while five others have specific limits for marijuana. With a lack of uniformity, it\u2019s no surprise we found that more than half of American drivers are unaware of the laws that exist in their state.\u201d<\/p>\n

Consider Colorado, where the Department of Transportation launched an educational program, “The Heat Is On,<\/a>\u201d in conjunction with the state\u2019s legalization of marijuana, which aims to increase enforcement and prevent driving under the influence of drugs and alcohol. Officers, including some specialized Drug Recognition Experts, are trained in recognizing the signs of substance use. The legal limit for driving in Colorado while impaired by marijuana is five nanograms of active tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) in the driver\u2019s blood, but officers also \u201cbase arrests on observed impairment.\u201d<\/p>\n

Washington state has the same maximum<\/a> as Colorado, five parts per billion of THC in the blood, and drivers who are believed to be driving under the influence undergo a field sobriety test. \u201cIf officers establish probable cause, they will ask for permission to draw blood, or they can obtain a warrant from a judge,\u201d reports the nonprofit Municipal Research and Services Center. Blood tests are mandatory in the case of collisions, and this type of enforcement isn\u2019t new — the same standard applied before marijuana was legalized in the state. (Laws vary greatly in states that don\u2019t currently support marijuana legalization. The organization StopDUID<\/a> helpfully categorizes states by type of enforcement: Oral Fluid; Per Se; and Pending Legislation.)<\/p>\n

While marijuana-impaired drivers may be harder to spot than drunk drivers, the impact of drugs on driver performance is still notable. \u201cFederal government research suggests that marijuana can impair driving performance for up to 3 hours,\u201d said Kissinger. \u201cDecreased car handling performance, increased reaction times and sleepiness have all been documented driver impairments that result from marijuana use.\u201d<\/p>\n

Although the AAA poll found that a comparably small percentage (about 25%) of Americans felt concerned over driving while using prescription drugs, both over-the-counter and prescription drugs can also present serious dangers. Reports AAA: \u201cPrevious studies have found that a single dose of some cold and allergy medications can have the same effect on driving as being above the legal limit for blood alcohol concentration, and certain antidepressants have been shown to increase crash risk by up to 41%.\u201d Be safe: Check with your doctor prior to driving if you\u2019re taking medicines or other drugs.<\/p>\n

Want to learn more? Check out StopDUID\u2019s comprehensive report on drugged driving laws and enforcement, read up on AAA\u2019s impaired driving facts, and consult your local laws for more details.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

As recreational marijuana use is legalized in Oregon, Washington, the District of Columbia, Alaska and Colorado, safety advocates and ordinary Americans alike are concerned over the impact of driving while impaired, according to a new study from the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety. The analysis found that over 50% of those surveyed reported feeling that […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":37,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[569,577],"tags":[884,883,868,885],"class_list":["post-7185","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-legislation-2","category-transportation-2","tag-aaa-foundation-for-traffic-safety","tag-blood-alcohol-content","tag-dui","tag-marijuana"],"yoast_head":"\nLegal pot leads to drugged driving concerns, says AAA study - MyParkingSign Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"As recreational marijuana use is legalized in Oregon, Washington, the District of Columbia, Alaska and Colorado, safety advocates and ordinary Americans alike are concerned.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.myparkingsign.com/blog\/legal-pot-leads-drugged-driving-concerns-says-aaa-study\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Legal pot leads to drugged driving concerns, says AAA study - MyParkingSign Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"As recreational marijuana use is legalized in Oregon, Washington, the District of Columbia, Alaska and Colorado, safety advocates and ordinary Americans alike are concerned.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.myparkingsign.com/blog\/legal-pot-leads-drugged-driving-concerns-says-aaa-study\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"MyParkingSign Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/parkingsigns\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2015-01-07T22:25:06+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-02-11T06:05:47+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.myparkingsign.com/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/marijuana.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"500\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"356\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Katy B. Olson\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@MyParkingSign\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@MyParkingSign\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Katy B. Olson\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.myparkingsign.com/blog\\\/legal-pot-leads-drugged-driving-concerns-says-aaa-study\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.myparkingsign.com/blog\\\/legal-pot-leads-drugged-driving-concerns-says-aaa-study\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Katy B. Olson\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.myparkingsign.com/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/af424325abf69284d5f644001ab269ca\"},\"headline\":\"Legal pot leads to drugged driving concerns, says AAA study\",\"datePublished\":\"2015-01-07T22:25:06+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-02-11T06:05:47+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.myparkingsign.com/blog\\\/legal-pot-leads-drugged-driving-concerns-says-aaa-study\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":621,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.myparkingsign.com/blog\\\/legal-pot-leads-drugged-driving-concerns-says-aaa-study\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/beta.myparkingsign.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/marijuana.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety\",\"Blood alcohol content\",\"DUI\",\"marijuana\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Legislation\",\"Transportation\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.myparkingsign.com/blog\\\/legal-pot-leads-drugged-driving-concerns-says-aaa-study\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.myparkingsign.com/blog\\\/legal-pot-leads-drugged-driving-concerns-says-aaa-study\\\/\",\"name\":\"Legal pot leads to drugged driving concerns, says AAA study - MyParkingSign Blog\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.myparkingsign.com/blog\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.myparkingsign.com/blog\\\/legal-pot-leads-drugged-driving-concerns-says-aaa-study\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.myparkingsign.com/blog\\\/legal-pot-leads-drugged-driving-concerns-says-aaa-study\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/beta.myparkingsign.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/marijuana.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2015-01-07T22:25:06+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-02-11T06:05:47+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.myparkingsign.com/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/af424325abf69284d5f644001ab269ca\"},\"description\":\"As recreational marijuana use is legalized in Oregon, Washington, the District of Columbia, Alaska and Colorado, safety advocates and ordinary Americans alike are concerned.\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.myparkingsign.com/blog\\\/legal-pot-leads-drugged-driving-concerns-says-aaa-study\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.myparkingsign.com/blog\\\/legal-pot-leads-drugged-driving-concerns-says-aaa-study\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/beta.myparkingsign.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/marijuana.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/beta.myparkingsign.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/marijuana.jpg\"},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.myparkingsign.com/blog\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.myparkingsign.com/blog\\\/\",\"name\":\"MyParkingSign Blog\",\"description\":\"Articles and resources on parking, road safety, and signs\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.myparkingsign.com/blog\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.myparkingsign.com/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/af424325abf69284d5f644001ab269ca\",\"name\":\"Katy B. Olson\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/64d5331fdc12b0567b40b4ba16c0454cfd4f173ee7d00e8576a1a407432c642a?s=96&d=mm&r=pg\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/64d5331fdc12b0567b40b4ba16c0454cfd4f173ee7d00e8576a1a407432c642a?s=96&d=mm&r=pg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/64d5331fdc12b0567b40b4ba16c0454cfd4f173ee7d00e8576a1a407432c642a?s=96&d=mm&r=pg\",\"caption\":\"Katy B. Olson\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/www.myparkingsign.com\\\/blog\\\/\"]}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Legal pot leads to drugged driving concerns, says AAA study - MyParkingSign Blog","description":"As recreational marijuana use is legalized in Oregon, Washington, the District of Columbia, Alaska and Colorado, safety advocates and ordinary Americans alike are concerned.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.myparkingsign.com/blog\/legal-pot-leads-drugged-driving-concerns-says-aaa-study\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Legal pot leads to drugged driving concerns, says AAA study - MyParkingSign Blog","og_description":"As recreational marijuana use is legalized in Oregon, Washington, the District of Columbia, Alaska and Colorado, safety advocates and ordinary Americans alike are concerned.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.myparkingsign.com/blog\/legal-pot-leads-drugged-driving-concerns-says-aaa-study\/","og_site_name":"MyParkingSign Blog","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/parkingsigns","article_published_time":"2015-01-07T22:25:06+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-02-11T06:05:47+00:00","og_image":[{"width":500,"height":356,"url":"https:\/\/www.myparkingsign.com/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/marijuana.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Katy B. Olson","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@MyParkingSign","twitter_site":"@MyParkingSign","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Katy B. Olson","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.myparkingsign.com/blog\/legal-pot-leads-drugged-driving-concerns-says-aaa-study\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.myparkingsign.com/blog\/legal-pot-leads-drugged-driving-concerns-says-aaa-study\/"},"author":{"name":"Katy B. Olson","@id":"https:\/\/www.myparkingsign.com/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/af424325abf69284d5f644001ab269ca"},"headline":"Legal pot leads to drugged driving concerns, says AAA study","datePublished":"2015-01-07T22:25:06+00:00","dateModified":"2026-02-11T06:05:47+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.myparkingsign.com/blog\/legal-pot-leads-drugged-driving-concerns-says-aaa-study\/"},"wordCount":621,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.myparkingsign.com/blog\/legal-pot-leads-drugged-driving-concerns-says-aaa-study\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/beta.myparkingsign.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/marijuana.jpg","keywords":["AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety","Blood alcohol content","DUI","marijuana"],"articleSection":["Legislation","Transportation"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.myparkingsign.com/blog\/legal-pot-leads-drugged-driving-concerns-says-aaa-study\/","url":"https:\/\/www.myparkingsign.com/blog\/legal-pot-leads-drugged-driving-concerns-says-aaa-study\/","name":"Legal pot leads to drugged driving concerns, says AAA study - MyParkingSign Blog","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.myparkingsign.com/blog\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.myparkingsign.com/blog\/legal-pot-leads-drugged-driving-concerns-says-aaa-study\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.myparkingsign.com/blog\/legal-pot-leads-drugged-driving-concerns-says-aaa-study\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/beta.myparkingsign.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/marijuana.jpg","datePublished":"2015-01-07T22:25:06+00:00","dateModified":"2026-02-11T06:05:47+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.myparkingsign.com/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/af424325abf69284d5f644001ab269ca"},"description":"As recreational marijuana use is legalized in Oregon, Washington, the District of Columbia, Alaska and Colorado, safety advocates and ordinary Americans alike are concerned.","inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.myparkingsign.com/blog\/legal-pot-leads-drugged-driving-concerns-says-aaa-study\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.myparkingsign.com/blog\/legal-pot-leads-drugged-driving-concerns-says-aaa-study\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/beta.myparkingsign.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/marijuana.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/beta.myparkingsign.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/marijuana.jpg"},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.myparkingsign.com/blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.myparkingsign.com/blog\/","name":"MyParkingSign Blog","description":"Articles and resources on parking, road safety, and signs","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.myparkingsign.com/blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.myparkingsign.com/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/af424325abf69284d5f644001ab269ca","name":"Katy B. Olson","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/64d5331fdc12b0567b40b4ba16c0454cfd4f173ee7d00e8576a1a407432c642a?s=96&d=mm&r=pg","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/64d5331fdc12b0567b40b4ba16c0454cfd4f173ee7d00e8576a1a407432c642a?s=96&d=mm&r=pg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/64d5331fdc12b0567b40b4ba16c0454cfd4f173ee7d00e8576a1a407432c642a?s=96&d=mm&r=pg","caption":"Katy B. Olson"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.myparkingsign.com\/blog\/"]}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.myparkingsign.com/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7185","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.myparkingsign.com/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.myparkingsign.com/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myparkingsign.com/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/37"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myparkingsign.com/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7185"}],"version-history":[{"count":12,"href":"https:\/\/www.myparkingsign.com/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7185\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":15592,"href":"https:\/\/www.myparkingsign.com/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7185\/revisions\/15592"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.myparkingsign.com/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7185"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myparkingsign.com/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7185"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myparkingsign.com/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7185"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}